A Minneapolis Family's Excellent Adventures in Bangalore, India and Beyond...

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Grayce's Seventh Time 'Round the Sun!

Apologies for the lack of Tiny Baby Pictures...Our digital camera didn't come on the scene till Grayce was a toddler.

Grayce, around age 1...Bath Time.

As a toddler, in San Diego!

"Sledding" with her Kindred Spirit, Maggie...age 18 months

Age 2, in Duluth

Toddler Chalk Time!

Sunny and Happy Girl!

The Toddler Twosome...Grayce and best pal, Maggie, age 2

Too Cool, 2 year old.

Just "2"...Up North with Mom and Dad...

Valentine Girl!

Nukkers, Lovey and a whole lot of PINK!!

"2 years, 5 months...shopping with Mama in her "New York" poncho...Stylish!

2 years, 9 months... A Big Sister!

"3" years old...Flower Girl at my brother, Alik's, wedding...

Our "4" year old dancer...Look at those fab pigtails!

Thoughtful Five...

"5" years...visiting the Duluth Zoo at Grandma and Papa's.

Turning "6"...Tea Party at Linden Hills Park and a farewell to friends as we packed for India.

ANNOUNCING "7"!!! July 5th, 2008. Daddy brought her flowers...

Our beautiful daughter is "7"...an age that seems...BIG, somehow. So much has changed in our lives this past year that it rather shocked me to realize how much our girl has grown. She's taken to reading chapter books to herself before bed (I always read to the kids at bedtime...but as she says, "Mama, I just love books so much! I neeeeeed to read!") Since she's had to pull my attention out of a book on numerous occasions...well, you could say she's a girl after my own heart!

The Great Birthday Present Hunt (newly introduced this year by Owen P. Fischer, Age 4...born too close to Easter, it seems!)

Birthday morning presents were followed by a manicure and pedicure at the Cocoon Day Spa with Mama...Her toes are Turquoise, and she nearly kicked the pedicurist in the head, her feet were so ticklish! Shopping at Fab India for the auspicious, "new dress"...topped off the morning.

"7th" Birthday Lunch at Sunny's Restaurant in Bangalore... Grayce's favorite. She always orders the "Chicken with Saffron and Leek Sauce"... After lunch and cake we headed back home for some quiet time and then had Family Movie Night...watching "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone" and eating homemade pizza and ice cream. "A Wonderful and The Most Special Birthday Ever," quoth the birthday girl!

Sunday, July 6th...Waiting for Friends to arrive for the Birthday Tea!

Speaking of hearts...Grayce has a tender one. She is kind and loving and compassionate. A perfectionist. She is funny and has an imaginative flair for the dramatic. She can be shy and hates to be "put on the spot." She is, as she has been since birth, cautious and occasionally anxious. Crowds and loud noises are not her thing. She loves art and wants to "be an art teacher...a small class in our house." Grayce is a fabulous story teller! She is a wonderful big sister and friend to her brother. She can not yet imagine a world in which she would want to ever be apart from us...

We love you, dear one :-) Happiest of all Birthdays and Blessings for your new journey towards eight!

1 comment:

We can't believe that you are looking sooooo grown up! Maggie misses you dreadfully and cried at the very thought that we had missed your birthday. We are so looking forward to your visit home and will have to have a special joint celebration for the two "kindred spirits".

"You're moving *where* ?"

Generally, people fall into two camps when it comes to a move across continents. Either they wish they could join you (and subsequently promise to visit) or they think you've lost your mind (and with kids tagging along that is especially true). What ever your thoughts, we invite you to join our family as we journey off to India in search of new career opportunities, travel adventures, the experience of living in a foreign culture and a (hopefully) better understanding of what it means to be a human being on our rapidly shrinking planet.